The mother of Aussie cricket legend Andrew Symonds has opened up about the 2am phone call she received in May of 2022 that every parent dreads.
Barbara Symonds didn’t know what to think – but she figured it was going to be horrific news.
Sadly, her instincts were spot on – the dynamic all-rounder, aged just 46, had died after his vehicle left the road and rolled at Hervey Range, 50km west of Townsville in far north Queensland.
Three years to the day since her son’s death, the pain remains for Barbara Symonds.
‘It’s an unfortunate part of life that these awful things can happen,’ she told News Corp.
‘It’s awful. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. ‘We are not the first family that this has happened to, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
The mother of Aussie cricket legend Andrew Symonds (pictured, middle) has opened up about the 2am phone call she received in May of 2022 that every parent dreads
Sadly, Barbara Symonds’ instincts were spot on – the dynamic all-rounder (pictured) had died after his vehicle left the road and rolled in far north Queensland
Former Aussie cricket star Andrew Symonds is pictured with his children Billy and Chloe
‘We are lucky that he has left such a legacy.’
‘Roy’ was a fan favourite – and equally loved by his teammates.
The sporting maverick played 26 Tests, close to 200 ODIs and 14 T20 matches for Australia in what was a decorated career.
Symonds was a key figure at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa won by Ricky Ponting’s men – and his maiden Test century against England in the 2006 Boxing Day Test at the MCG was equally memorable.
Despite his larrikin Aussie nature, Symonds was actually born in Birmingham, England in 1975 to Afro-Caribbean and Swedish or Danish parents.
He was then adopted by Ken and Barbara Symonds, who worked as school teachers.
‘I don’t actually know my natural parents. I’ve never met them,’ Symonds previously told The Brett Lee Podcast.
‘But when I was six-weeks-old, my mother and father went to the clinic and they applied to adopt a child.
‘The way things worked back in those days was, they got to take me home for a week and just trial me. A test drive.
The sporting maverick played 26 Tests, close to 200 ODIs and 14 T20 matches for Australia
Symonds’ love for cricket was matched by his country boy passions for pig hunting, fishing and camping trips
‘And I remember mum tells the story that they took me home for the week.
‘I played up and cried and was terrible, and so they went back to the clinic and were asked, ‘How did he go?’ and she goes, ‘You know, he was an angel. He was perfect. We’d like to keep him’.
‘So they signed all the paperwork and I became Andrew Symonds, going home with Kenneth Walter Symonds and Barbara Symonds as their son.’
They emigrated to Australia soon after and the family lived in country Victoria before eventually moving to Charters Towers in Far North Queensland.
With a ‘cricket mad’ father, Symonds was a child prodigy on the Gold Coast and made his first-class debut for Queensland in 1994.
International honours followed just four years later – and when at the peak of powers, Symonds was a key figure for Australia given his lusty hitting at the crease, world-class fielding and handy bowling.
Away from cricket, Symonds at times struggled with alcohol – but he was also subjected to racial abuse, with a notable incident involving India’s Harbhajan Singh at the SCG in 2008.
After retiring as a player in 2012, Symonds became a popular commentator with Fox Cricket, especially during the Big Bash.
Following his death, the father of two was labelled by Cricket Australia ‘a cult hero and one of the most skilled all-rounders Australian cricket has seen.’
